The Greatest Thing L Will Ever Learn
by ryuzaki-will-live-on
Summary: TEMP. ON HIATUS. LxLight shonen-ai. L is about to discover the greatest thing he will ever learn, but it isn't what he expected; and worse yet, it came right out of Matsuda's mouth! Can he deal with the knowledge, or will it unravel him to the core?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I don't own Death Note, or Moulin Rouge.**

L was on his way to his room. He had spent the past thirty-six hours watching Light and Misa in their imprisonments. It was exhausting watching them all day, and despite the urgent need to prove his theory of Light and Misa being the first and second Kira, he was tired and felt he had earned himself a little nap.

On his way to his room, he was surprised to hear a sound coming from one of the rooms, for it was nearly three in the morning! Who on Earth would be up this late, unless of course, like himself, they had been doing important work on the Kira case? He had dismissed the rest of the investigation team hours ago; who could possibly still be awake?

His curiosity getting the best of him, he knocked quietly on the door. When no one answered, he gently pushed the door open. As soon as his eyes assessed the situation, his jaw dropped in annoyed astonishment. Really? Was he really seeing this?

Before him, Matsuda was curled up on a couch, clutching one of the throw pillows. His eyes were fixed on the TV, while his mouth moved in stifled sobs. He was tearing up as he watched a man on the TV walk away from a girl onstage. Matsuda continued to cry, clutching the pillow closer to himself as the man on the TV continued his angry exit from the theatre.

Finally, Matsuda cried out, in shocking unison with a different man on the TV, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return!" This sent Matsuda into another fit of tears as a song started, and the man returned to the girl onstage. Matsuda was now smiling through his tears, "You are so right. I wish the story ended here though… the ending is so…" he sniffled, "…sad."

L was dumbfounded. The mysterious sound had been Matsuda crying over a musical? What an idiot. L rolled his eyes and left the room as silently as he had entered. There was no point talking to Matsuda, especially in the condition he was now in, so he headed straight back to his room.

When L had cuddled into bed with his stuffed cupcake pillow, he let his mind wander. The first thought he had was of the absurd scene he'd witnessed in Matsuda's room. Second, his thoughts turned to one particular aspect of the scene. Matsuda had said, 'The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return." L scoffed at the thought; of course Matsuda and the movie were wrong. The greatest thing a person could possibly learn was justice and how to obtain justice; which, at this particular moment in time, translated into : _the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just who Kira is, and how he is killing people. _Yes, that was the greatest thing a person could ever learn, Matsuda was wrong, like always.

L mused, what was the second greatest thing a person could learn? L pondered this a few moments before naming his opinions on the matter. How to bake a good cake? The correct sugar cube to coffee ratio to make it simply tantalizing? L considered the many possibilities as he snuggled up into his cupcake pillow and drifted into a sugar-coated, dream filled sleep; the slightest smile on his lips hidden in the darkness of the room.

When L woke up a few hours later, he made his way back down to headquarters. Nobody else was there yet, so L seized the opportunity to have some coffee. Watari brought it out to him, and while placing the many sugar cubes in it, he was reminded of last night's musings over sugar to coffee rations.

This then led to remembering what had taken place in Matsuda's room. A frown once again appeared on his face at the thought of Matsuda's ignorance of the truth, and absurdness in general. L shook off his irritation with the man with a sip of his coffee, and turned toward the monitoring screens.

Light was the only one of the captives who was awake. He wasn't doing much, just sitting there talking to himself, "My pride… I'll have to get rid of it…" This was strange to L. Why was Light talking about giving up his pride? It seemed oddly out of character for him. What was he up to now? Minutes later, Light collapsed back onto the floor, falling quickly back to sleep. _That was strange_, L thought. With both of the suspects sleeping, L quietly sipped his coffee, waiting for the other investigation team members to arrive.

Roughly ten minutes later, the other members arrived, ready for work. They each sat down to work on their own individual tasks. Several hours later, they were interrupted by a loud, "L!" being shouted from one of the monitoring screens.

"Yes Light?" L asked, curious as to what the Kira-suspect had to say.

"I know I requested to be locked up like this, but I finally realized that it is completely useless! I'm not Kira! There's no way I could have possibly killed all of those innocent people," Light explained, his voice ragged from his quick, gasping breaths.

"Light, it is strange that you would say this, seeing as before confinement, you were suggesting that perhaps you were killing people in your subconscious state. You asked to be restrained, therefore, you will remain as such, until I've decided whether you are Kira… or not." L's voice was calm, deeply contrasting to Light's.

"Yeah, I know, but L, I'm not Kira, you have to believe me! You have to let me out, let me help on the case; you must believe me, I'm not Kira!" Light's voice was steadily growing louder, to the point of yelling, and yet, L's face remained calm and pensive.

L remained like this for several minutes, leaving Light without a response. Finally, he turned to the rest of the investigation team. "What do you guys think? Should I let him join the investigation team?" Each member expressed a consent to the proposal, so L returned his attention to Light. "Very well, Light. I will release you from your confinement, and let you help the task force with the Kira investigation. However, I am now forty-three percent sure that you are Kira, so I will be keeping track of you, 24-7."

Despite the news of having to be with L all the time, Light was ecstatic to be being released from his prison. Minutes later he was brought to L, where he was then handcuffed to the older man. He thought for a moment how creepy the setting was : an older man forcing a younger man to be bound to him 24-7, but he quickly dismissed the notion. He was only in this condition because L did not believe him, he didn't believe the truth.

"Light-kun, I hope you understand that the only reason you have been released from confinement is that I believe you, as Kira, may provide us with some angles that we have yet to realize or see yet, hence the still being supervised by me part."

"I can live with that; though I hope you know that by spending so much time in such close proximity to me, you are going to be given the proof that I am not, in fact, Kira. I'm really just a normal kid who excels at school, living and loving life."

L eyed him up, taking in what Light had just said. "Hmm… we'll see about that Light-kun, we'll see about that."

That was the first day that Light helped on the Kira case since his confinement. They didn't accomplish much more than was expected for the day, but L thought it was an improvement. He felt it, somewhere deep within him, that he was on the verge of discovering something big and important soon. Adding Light to the investigation team could have quite possibly been the biggest step forward toward discovering the truth.

**A/N :phew! so i finally had the opportunity to post this chapter/story. it's been written for the past few weeks, i have just been so busy with school and such, that it kind of got postponed. i'm hoping to have the next chapter written in the next few days... and as a heads up, this is going to be a L/Light Shonen-ai story... so, you've been warned in advance, in case you didn't pick up on the foreshadowing. ^_^ also, i am working on a few other stories, so hopefully, once those are editted, i will get them up. =) please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think so far! until next time, xo. rhea. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N : I don't own Death Note, or Moulin Rouge. **

As the weeks wore on, Light continued to help on the investigation team, and L slowly grew more and more depressed. Light had not, as the great detective predicted, shown any particular signs that added to his theory that Light Yagami was Kira. The dark-haired detective was not only mournful of this trait, but of something much more unnerving as well. Not only was Light not providing the proof L needed to convict him, but he was actually seeming to provide the evidence to prove his innocence.

On occasion, L would catch the softness of his partner's features, his warm eyes, quiet smile, or just the sensitive way the younger man seemed to talk to L. It all confused L greatly; he was so convinced that this man was Kira. However, the way he presented himself completely contradicted everything. Of course, L had to believe that it was all an act, that Light was just pretending to be kind in order to decieve L and try to kill him; but yet, when each of Light's actions appeared to only be filled with legit concern and kindness, L struggled to keep that firm grasp on his reality. It irritated L immensely to think that Light could possibly be right, that by spending all this time with him would actually, in the end, prove his innocence. It was all very frustrating.

On one particular Saturday in November, the investigation team had once again came up empty-handed. L decided that he needed a break from the torture of not being able to accomplish anything, so he dismissed the team several hours later. The other investigators had mixed reactions. Some of them, who were tired of seeing L mope around for the past month or so, sighed and rolled their eyes; they wanted the detective to acquire his confidence and motivation again; they didn't get anything done when L was in this state. Others were grateful for the break, due to the extra work load lately to try to move the investigation further. And then, there was Matsuda. Matsuda became ecstatic at the thought of a couple extra hours off.

"Sweet! Now I can re-watch _Moulin Rouge_. I've had the songs stuck in my head all day! Does anybody want to come watch it with me?" Matsuda asked, excited at the thought of getting someone else addicted to his all-time favorite musical.

The silly man was greeted with an immediate unanimous, "No," before everyone else dispersed to go home. This left only Matsuda, L, and Light in the room. Matsuda reiterated his invitation. "Are you guys sure you don't want to watch it? It's an amazing movie, except the ending is kind of sad…" Matsuda drifted off into his own thoughts for a moment, giving the other two men an opportunity to deny his offer.

"No thanks Matsuda. I think I am simply going to go eat some cake… maybe its magical powers will help cheer me up," L mumbled, already weary of conversing with the stupid man. Light did not verbally deny the offer, he didn't really have a choice in the matter. L had already refused to watch the movie, so obviously, Light would be going with him. He did kind of want to watch it, he hadn't seen _Moulin Rouge _in years, plus, the music was pretty catchy! However, he knew that Ryuzaki was distressed about not making much head-way with the case, and Light didn't want to upset him more, or fight with him; so he didn't say anything.

With a defeated look, Matsuda retreated to his room to watch his beloved musical, leaving L and Light sitting in the silence of headquarters. Finally, Light broke the silence. "Come on L, let's go get some cake and head back to the suite, you look tired, you could use some rest."

"Why? So you can kill me in my sleep? Huh, Kira?" L spat. He didn't mean to sound mean, but he had to keep the reality that this was Kira he was talking to, and no matter how much he tried to deceive him, L couldn't falter; because when he did, it would be the death of him, he knew it.

Light frowned. "No, idiot! You should sleep so that you will feel well rested, so that maybe we can start moving forward with our case! I'm not Kira, and it is highly offensive to me that after months of working with me, you still believe me to be some terrible fiend. Why can't you consider me a friend? We're friends, aren't we? Oh, wait! No, we're not, are we? Because you let your pride stand between a friendship with someone who is innocent of the crime you accuse them of. Your pride stops you from acting in the normal way, the logical way! If you just looked at me, just looked at me for a moment, without the watchful eyes of the great Ryuzaki, but just simply those of a man… would you not act differently? I can see it in your eyes Ryuzaki, you could bring yourself to be friends with me, yet you keep your distance because of something you thought, which happened to be wrong!"

L was dumbfounded, he hadn't expected such a rant from Light. Not knowing what to say, and feeling as he didn't have to reply to the man, he simply let his eyes fall to the floor, and his lips to remain pursed tightly shut.

After a moment of silence, Light once again grew frustrated with the detective. He grabbed L's shoulders and gave them a rough shake. "Look at me! Look at me damn it!" L grudgingly lifted his eyes to stare at the man before him, L could not allow himself to look weak and wielding. When L didn't say anything more, Light once again took initiative. "L! Look at me! Not just my outward appearance, look at my soul. What do you see?"

L didn't hesitate this time, he knew this answer, he had drilled it into himself months ago. "Kira." His cold stare hardened his features, and the ever-calm detective took on a look of pure malice. This man before him was Kira, there were no and, if, or buts about it. "You. Are. Kira."

It took a moment for Light to register what had just happened. He had been slapped in the face! Did nothing he just said mean anything!? How could this man look upon him and still say that after everything that Light just explained. It was ludicrous. Light felt his insides turn to fire. He couldn't believe the pig-headedness of this prejudiced detective. Everything inside Light was combusting, like a nuclear explosion. He had been sure that after the speech he had made, the two would have been able to reconcile, and truly become the friends that Light wished them to be.

He didn't know what to do, the emotion and stress of the situation had frazzled him. In a moment of heated confusion, he grabbed L by the shirt, and kissed him. Light felt L react in bewilderment, involuntarily trying to pull away, but Light held him close and tight. The kiss was laced with softness and passion, a combination that after a few moments, tempted L to submit and kiss the younger boy back. When Light finally needed to catch his breath, he broke the kiss and stared at L. "Ryuzaki, what do you truly see before you?"

L was still disoriented, he had not expected that to happen; but after it had happened, he hadn't expected himself to act in the way he had. He quickly fell into a state of confusion. This man was Kira… he had to be. . . Yet, he speaks so passionately, and the kiss… The kiss quite possibly spoke louder than the entire rant that Light had just made. How could this man really be Kira? Was it possible? Would it really be that bad if L forgot his accusations against the man for awhile, in order to explore the inner workings of his heart and mind before making the final judgment? "Light-kun, you confuse me too much."

Light's expression did not waver from the stern, but soft and caring features that caressed his face. "That doesn't answer the question. What do you see before you?"

"A man," the great detective answered vaguely. "I see a man, Light. From there, though, I can discern no more. You confuse me too much for me to read anything more than that."

The tiniest bit of a smile formed on Light's lips. "I can live with that, for now," he replied. "Now come on, you should get some rest, and if you don't want to, then you should at least get some cake; you do realize it's been over three hours since you've had sugar, don't you? I'm surprised you aren't suffering from withdrawal symptoms." Light's tone was light and teasing, trying to keep the newly found medium calm.

L gave a silent nod in reply, and Light lead him out of the office, back to their suite for cake. L walked behind him, settling himself into deep, unknown thoughts that kept resurfacing, thoughts of what had just transpired. Withdrawal symptoms… that's an interesting way to think of it. L thought for a moment. Yes, he could see himself suffering from withdrawal symptoms soon. Though, at this moment in time, he wasn't sure if they'd be for cake… or something else. L repressed all of these unknown and confusing thoughts, and lifted his eyes to Light's back, watching the man lead him back to their room.

**A/N : phew! so chapter two is finally completed. yay! sorry for my lack of regular posting... i've been pretty busy with school lately. even today, i'm going to our homecoming dance. but i figured i'd seize the opportunity to write/post a new chapter. i hope you liked this chapter. =) i'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! i'm hoping to have chaptper 3 up soon, perhaps within a week, maybe two? until next time -xo **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer : I don't own Death Note or Moulin Rouge!**

When the two men returned to their suite, L settled himself down on the couch with a generous-sized slice of cake. The room was quiet and thoughtful, giving both detectives time and space to think about what had all transpired in the hallway.

Light was hoping that L would say something, anything. He was hoping that his explanation and the unpredicted kiss would have made the great detective change, or at least lessen the accusations made against him. It hurt Light, that L, the man that Light so desperately wished to become close with, to form a stable friendship with, still hated and detested him. The younger man wished for Ryuzaki to say anything, even if it were to condemn him for that immoral kiss; anything would be better than the silence that Light was suffering through at the moment, not knowing what the man beside him was thinking.

L, who generally is the one who breaks such awkward silences, again took initiative to start a conversation, though its content surprised the younger boy he was speaking to. "Light-kun," L began, "what do you think is the greatest thing a person will ever learn?" Light's face twisted itself into an expression of disbelief at what L had just asked, though he knew the answer without even having to think about it. Ryuzaki's earnest stare pushed Light to answer, softly, but definite.

"That's easy Ryuzaki. The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return."

L cocked his head to the side, "That's strange, Light-kun, that you would say that," he mumbled, "that is the same thing Matsuda was saying when he was watching that movie that one night. Do you really think that is the absolute greatest thing a person can learn? What about justice, and sugar ratios, and how to make cake; you know, the things that most people concern themselves with; how can it simply be to love and be loved in return?"

Light chuckled to himself, "Ryuzaki, do you honestly think that _normal_ people concern themselves with cake and sugar ratios?" The younger man took the opportunity to steal a glance at L's eyes, and he could tell that he sincerely did; Light really did have to find this man some new hobbies, perhaps they could take up golf? "Well, yes, I do believe that. Ever since I watched _Moulin Rouge_, it has been one of my personal quotes; I had never thought about it like that before, but once I did, the quote made absolute sense."

L thought for a moment, "But, Matsuda always says such stupid things… how could he possibly say or believe in something that you claim to be so true and sacred? He isn't that smart!" L scoffed.

A smile played on Light's lips. "Well, Ryuzaki, I suppose that perhaps our little Matsuda is finally starting to grow up and learn the important things in life."

L returned Light's smile. "Psh, as if _that_ could ever happen! Though… I suppose you might be right… However, I still think justice has more to do with great knowledge, rather than love."

The younger man started at the dark-haired detective for a few silent moments before speaking again. "Ryuzaki, have you ever seen _Moulin Rouge_?" L shook his head no, his face remaining blank and passive. Light spoke again, "Would you like to watch it with me?"

"Light-kun! We can not steal Matsuda's movie! You know how much he was dying to watch it," L exaggerated.

Light smiled, "I know, you would never participate in something illegal, such as stealing! We don't have to even borrow his copy, I have my own."

"Really?" L asked, surprised that he hadn't known this fact about the man he had been watching for the past months. "Well then, I suppose we can watch it, we have the night off, after all. Where is it?"

"I put it on the bottom shelf of the television stand weeks ago. Do you mean to say that you didn't notice it?" Light asked with a playful smile. "Come on, I'll put it in, then we can get some blankets to cover up with, it's starting to get cold, from the weather outside."

The two men settled down on the couch, each of them wrapped up in their own blanket, and watched the musical. Light sat back and relaxed, enjoying the movie he had grown to love over the years. L, however, studied and analyzed every action and word spoken, trying to discern the truth of the quote they had been discussing earlier.

When the movie was over, L was still curled up, his face composed and distant, absorbed with wandering thoughts. His crackling voice broke the serenity and stillness that the musical had enveloped the room in, "Light-kun… I think I understand why this quote seems to ring true in your heart, as well as Matsuda and the actors' hearts. Love is powerful and redeeming, I can see where it is better than sugar cubes and slices of cake." He remained facing forward, in order to hide the single tear that was escaping down his cheek. It was appalling that this movie, this single musical, had managed to do this to him; that it was able to uproot everything that he had previously believed in, and thought he knew. Everything had changed, so quickly, and to such a degree that it scared L; he wasn't quite sure where this discovery would lead him, or if he was ready for it.

Light glanced at the man sitting beside him. He didn't need to be looking directly at his face to know that it would be contorted with a twist of sorrow, discovery, and hope. The younger man knew this, because it was the same for him when he first saw the movie. He had become overwhelmed with the thought that he had lived his entire life thus far without searching for love, and that was why his life had been so empty. Looking at L's face now, Light uncovered another hidden thought, a thought that he hadn't even perceived as being possible until now. Was it at all possible that the reason he had at one point believed himself possible of being Kira, thus leading to his imprisonment, was all because he had lost sight of this simple truth that was addressed in this movie? Had the forgotten insight lead to a downfall of self-confidence and whole-goodness of character?

Light frowned into the darkness of the room, as it had now grown late. A single tear made its way down his cheek. These thoughts were too morbid to think about after watching such a beautiful movie. He once again glanced at L, and feeling as though he simply had to comfort the man beside him, in some way; even if to just let him know that someone else in the world feels the same thing that he does at the moment, he wanted to do it. Light scooted closer to L and leaned his head against the detective's shoulder.

The sudden proximity startled L, but after he realized it was only Light, he relaxed and lay his head against the other man's. "Thanks Light," Ryuzaki mumbled, suddenly growing drowsy.

"Hmm? What for Ryuzaki?"

"For letting me watch _Moulin Rouge _with you, and for revealing this truth to me. Thanks Light-kun."

The two men gave a simultaneous yawn, and within minutes, fell asleep; their heads, each filled with their own thoughts of the movie, and quests for love, still laying against the other.

**A/N : i hope i got chapter 3 up soon enough to please some of you. =) now, i am contemplating two directions to take the story, a short version, or a longer version. i have created a poll, which you can find on my profile page, explainnig the inner-workings of both choices, to a certain degree. long story short, i'm leaving it up to the readers to decide if you want a longer or shorter story. so please vote, or i will have to postpone writing it, or choose for myself... and i'd like to try to keep as many people on here as happy as possible.. so please vote. also! i encourage everyone to review!!! i want to know what you're thinking about this story/chapter. for everyone who has reviewed, thank you! your reviews are honestly the drive that keeps me writing. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!! ^_^ -until next time. xo.**


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